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Espresso machines in principle are suitable for all coffee beans, but espresso places great emphasis on the degree of roast. Unlike pour-over coffee, where beans of any roast level can be adjusted via water temperature or the coffee-to-water ratio to brew out the flavor of a single-origin coffee's region,

the espresso machine extracts the essence of coffee through high pressure, which infinitely amplifies the flavors of the coffee beans. Different coffee beans have different flavors—some sour, some bitter—so using a single-variety coffee bean to make espresso easily produces extremely intense sourness or bitterness.

Therefore, Front Street Coffee does not recommend using light-roasted coffee beans to make espresso. This is because light-roasted coffee beans extract more acidity and less crema, and if you then add milk to make a milk coffee or cappuccino, the basic flavor of that cup will be sour, with a thin mouthfeel. 

Currently, most coffee shops on the market use dark-roasted blend coffee beans when making espresso. Although it is a blend, that does not mean the coffee beans are of poor quality. In the past, people had a negative view of blend coffee beans, mostly because coffee beans were unstable at that time, or because some unscrupulous merchants mixed poor-quality coffee beans and dark-roasted them in an attempt to obscure this.

But today's coffee beans on the market all meet the SCA definition of specialty coffee. As long as the coffee beans are of high quality, and there is professional knowledge of coffee and professional customer service during preparation, then whether it is a blend or a single-origin espresso, it qualifies as specialty coffee.

Blended coffee came into being because single-origin coffee (single-origin coffee) is affected by terroir and climate every year, and since it cannot achieve long-term consistency, professional roasters/baristas conduct in-depth research on coffee beans from each origin, blending different varieties of coffee beans in different proportions before roasting or after roasting. The goal is for the espresso extracted from these beans to achieve a certain harmonious taste while also maintaining a consistent flavor performance in every cup of espresso.

Front Street Coffee has also launched four blend coffee beans specifically for making medium-dark roasted espresso, based on the taste preferences of mass consumers. Everyone can choose different-flavored blend coffee beans according to personal preference, and orders can be placed at the Front Street Taobao store and the Front Street Tmall flagship store. For all coffee beans ordered online, Front Street Coffee will ship within five days after roasting is completed, ensuring everyone can experience the best aroma of freshly roasted coffee.

"Front Street Coffee - Warm Sun Blend Coffee Beans," a coffee bean primarily featuring vinous notes. Made from Ethiopian natural Red Cherry coffee beans (30%) + Honduras Sherry barrel coffee beans (70%), it has rich vinous notes, vanilla cream, the sweet-tartness of berries, and roasted nut flavors.

"Front Street Coffee - Front Street Specialty Blend Coffee Beans": an espresso coffee bean primarily featuring nutty notes. Made from Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), it has nut, dark chocolate, and caramel flavors.

"Front Street Coffee - Front Street Commercial Blend Coffee Beans," an espresso coffee bean primarily featuring body. Made from Robusta washed coffee beans (10%) + Colombian washed coffee beans (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee (60%), it has nut, cocoa, and caramel flavors, with high body.

"Front Street Coffee - Front Street Black Cocoa Blend Coffee Beans," an espresso coffee bean with slight acidity and full body. Made from Yunnan washed small-bean coffee (30%) + Brazilian semi-washed coffee beans (70%), it has soft fruity acidity, caramel, and nut flavors.

The performance of every coffee machine and grinder is different, and there will be certain differences in both pressure and grind setting, so there is no accurate grind setting or grind-size parameter for reference.

If you are at the initial stage, Front Street Coffee recommends an intermediate extraction parameter, and you can adjust the data according to how the coffee tastes: use 20g of grounds at a 1:2 ratio & 9bar pressure to extract 40g of coffee liquid, in 25-30 seconds. Based on the flavor performance of the coffee after actual extraction, make corresponding adjustments.

How do you tell whether the extracted espresso is successful? Front Street Coffee will tell everyone a little secret! That is, you can observe it from the appearance and color of the espresso crema.

Crema refers to the dense, light reddish-brown foam on the surface of espresso. During the roasting process, a large amount of carbon dioxide is produced on the surface of the coffee beans. Most of it is released during cooling, while a small amount is retained inside the coffee beans and released during grinding. So if you want to drink a cup of espresso with rich aroma and intense flavor, it is recommended to grind and extract fresh.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.